XMen: The Neo
by PK Lam
Summary: The X-Men go to take down the deadly Neo once and for all but at what price do they pay for victory?
1. No 1 The Siege

The Uncanny X-Men: The Neo 

No. 1

The Siege

            "As you already know," said Storm, the X-Men's leader whose powers are to manipulate the forces of Mother Nature, "anti-mutant hysteria is growing rapidly by the minute.  Our efforts to establish peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants (these are humans with a genetic mutation that gives them amazing powers) are becoming less and less effective. Humans already hate mutants but to make matters worse than how they already are, a new race of mutants calling themselves the Neo has begun a series of terrorist attacks all over the world.  We must contain the Neo at any cost.  If we fail, all our work towards peace would have been in vain."

            "We have located the headquarters of the Neo," added Nightcrawler, a mutant with the ability to teleport to places he's seen or been to, "Both Storm and I believe that if we destroy the Neo's home base, their order of operations would have been disrupted which would stop their attacks for a short period of time."

            "We must venture in groups of four," explained Storm, "Psylocke, Shadowcat and Wolverine will go into the Neo's base with Nightcrawler as your leader.  Phoenix, Gambit and Cable will be with me so that we can be the back-up assistance in case our plan goes wrong."

            "That sounds good to me," replied Shadowcat, the computer genius with the power to become intangible.

            "We're going in stealth style, bub.  I like your style Storm," agreed Wolverine the mutant with a fast healing factor and a skeleton bound with adamantium, the strongest metal in the world.

            "I have no problem with this team-up.  What is the battle plan Storm?" asked Psylocke, the telekinetic ninja with the ability to teleport through the use of shadows.

            "The plan, Psylocke, is to first knock out the base's security mechanism," answered Storm, "The four of you will sneak into the base and head toward the north eastern part of the compound.  This is where all the security is maintained.  Once you shut down the security, you'll have ten minutes to knock out the power core of the base which is located at the heart of the compound."

            "Where do we fit into all off this," asked Cable the mutant from a far-off future with the powers of both telepathy and telekinesis.

            "You, Cable, will be back-up for Nightcrawler's team with me.  All we have to do is to help keep an eye out for Nightcrawler's team.  If something goes wrong, we'll be the first to know about."

            "I yearn for battle Storm," insisted Cable, "I'm a natural born warrior and I need to help in a more active way."

            "I know Cable and I also know that your skills are needed much more on the back-up team.  With your military knowledge and powerful telekinesis, you are the only capable one of holding off a legion of the Neo so that the stealth team can escape unharmed."

            "I see the logic in your decision," murmured Cable, "I may not particularly enjoy the fact that I'll be playing a less active role in this mission but, I respect your judgment and consent to your decision."

            "Are we all clear about the plan people?" asked Nightcrawler.

            "All that info is crystal clear, mon ami," answered Gambit, whose mutant powers are to charge inanimate objects with kinetic force which explodes when it collides with another object.

            "Good.  Then let's head to the Blackbird (the X-Men's stealth jet with advanced alien technology from the Shi'Ar)," commanded Storm.

            The entire team went toward the elevator to travel down into the sub-basement of the X-Mansion.  As the rest of the team entered the elevator and began their descent to the sub-basement level, Storm and Phoenix remained behind.  The two women awaited the second elevator to arrive as the first finally reached the sub-basement level.

            "Are you ready for this battle?" asked Phoenix whose powers are of high-level telepathy.

            "You're a telepath Jean.  You should already know my state of mind," replied Storm as she turned to face Phoenix.

            "You, of all people, should know that I don't read people's mind against their will unless I have no other choice."

            "I was only joking around Phoenix," giggled Storm.

            "Sorry if I'm so tense but I can't help but think that we might not all come back from battle alive."

            "We're the X-Men Phoenix.  We fight to protect those who fear us.  We face dangers like this all the time and have walked away knowing that we're one step closer toward achieving our goal of peaceful co-existence."

            "I know.  I know, but with what happened during the past six months or so, I just wonder if the X-Men can pull through."

            "Believe me Jean, there will be no casualties on our side as long as the X-Men are under my watch.  That is a promise."

            Right after Storm and Phoenix finished their conversation, the elevator opened up and the two entered the elevator.  As they descended to the sub-basement, the rest of the X-Men had already boarded the Blackbird and gotten ready for take-off.  Nightcrawler took the co-pilot seat, reserving the captain's seat for Storm.  Once Storm and Phoenix boarded the Blackbird, Psylocke closed the door behind them using her telekinesis.  Storm went to the captain's seat and prepared for lift-off.

            "Are you nervous Wolvie?" asked Shadowcat.

            "No way Kitty.  I'm not nervous about this.  I've been in worse situations in life." answered Wolverine as he lit his cigarette.

            "You do know that smoking is unhealthy don't you?" asked Psylocke clearly annoyed.

            "Of course I do, bub, but my healing factor keeps my lungs healthy all the time so it don't matter to me."

            "Well, then you at least blow your smoke in a different direction."

            "Sure," replied Wolverine as he blew the smoke straight into Psylocke's face.

            "You sonuva…. If I still had my telepathy right now, I'd burn out every last brain cell you got in that skull of yours!" shouted Psylocke as she prepared to punch Wolverine.

            "Ooohh now.  We're not going to have any of that today," said Shadowcat as she got in between the two.

            "Let me at him!" screamed Psylocke with rage in her eyes.

            ('I'll use my telepathy to stop both Wolverine and Psylocke.') thought Cable as he eased away the tension between Wolverine and Psylocke.

            "That's better you two," said Shadowcat proudly, believing that she had stop the conflict, "Jeez, you two act like kids when I'm the kid around here."

            In a short time, the Blackbird took off and within the hour, the X-Men arrived at the Neo headquarters.  Storm landed in a deserted area located on the island.  Both Storm and Nightcrawler exited the cockpit and began to prepare for the siege.

            "Do you all remember the plan?" asked Storm.

            "Of course boss-lady," replied Shadowcat.

            "Alright then good luck.  Phoenix, Gambit, Cable and I will remain here to help you through.  Remember, if anything happens we'll be here to help."

            Psylocke, Shadowcat, Wolverine and Nightcrawler moved stealthily throughout the forest area.  Wolverine and Nightcrawler lead the way using their enhanced senses to pinpoint the headquarters.  Wolverine used his sense of smell to find the base while Nightcrawler used his eyes to scan the area for the building.  Once they found the base, they prepared to enter the base.

            "Alright team, it's show time," announced Nightcrawler, "We need to get pass those security cameras.  My teleportation power might trigger a mutant detection alarm but Psylocke's teleport is not a mutant power.  Shadowcat and Psylocke, you both teleport to the entrance and shut down the security cameras."

            "We're already on it," replied Shadowcat as she and Psylocke sank into the shadow beneath them.

            "I'll never get used to seeing Psylocke use that power," said Nightcrawler as the two of them reappear in front of the entrance.

            "Alright little kitty, work your magic," encouraged Psylocke.

            "I'm already way ahead of you musclehead," explained Shadowcat as she got out her mini computer made by the Shi'Ar.

            "Well, do you have a better definition for someone with telekinesis?"

            "Uh... you do have a point little one."

            Shadowcat got a cable and quickly hooked it up to the control panel of the entrance.  Shadowcat turned on her computer and instantly encrypted codes appeared on her monitor.  Shadowcat quickly typed in DOS commands and unlocked the encryption code.

            "Finally!" exclaimed Shadowcat, "That took longer than I thought it would."

            "Stay here little Kitty.  I'm going to teleport Wolverine and Nightcrawler over here," commanded Psylocke as she sunk into the shadows again.

            "Sure, whatever," murmured Shadowcat as Psylocke disappeared into the shadows, "Like I'm actually going wait for you old-timers," said Shadowcat as she checked the door for any electrical devices.

            Shadowcat found no electricity so she felt it was safe to phase.  Shadowcat's powers disrupt all electronic devices when she moves through them.  As Shadowcat glanced behind her to see whether or not her teammates were watching, she phased through the entrance and entered without setting off any alarms.  On the other side, Psylocke reappeared but when she glanced over at the entrance, she was shocked to find that Shadowcat was gone!

            "Oh my god!" gasped Psylocke, "Shadowcat went into the base herself!"

            "What?!" exclaimed Nightcrawler, "What's she thinking?  The Neo are extremely dangerous.  We need to collaborate in unison to take them down."

            "Don't get too worked up, bub," said Wolverine calmly, "The girl knows what she's doing.  She can take care of herself especially since I taught her the art of the samurai."

            "That doesn't matter Wolverine.  We must get in there and stop Shadowcat from doing something rash."

            Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Psylocke teleported to the other side of the entrance and immediately scanned their new surroundings for any immediate threats.  Wolverine used his hyper sensitive sense of smell to track Shadowcat and caught onto her scent before long.

            "Shadowcat went northeast so she must be headed to the area to shut down the security," reported Wolverine.

            "We must go after her," insisted Psylocke.

            "Let's not.  The situation is in our favor.  With Shadowcat off to destroy the security area, the three of us can take out the power core," suggested Wolverine.

            "I'm going to trust your instinct about Shadowcat, Wolverine," agreed Nightcrawler, "Let's contact her via our communicators."

            "Bad idea, bub," replied Wolverine, "The communicators can be traced.  We're lucky our uniforms have a Shi'Ar microchip to cloak us from sensors.  Our communicators don't have that advantage."

            "Let's head toward the power then," said Nightcrawler reluctantly, "I sure hope you're right about her Wolverine."

            "Don't worry.  She learned from the best," assured Wolverine.

            Meanwhile, at the security area, Shadowcat sidestep along the wall to keep from being spotted by the security cameras above her.  As she moved along the wall, she encountered a Neo who gasped in surprise.  Shadowcat quickly grabbed the guy by the neck and socked him in the jaw rendering him unconscious.

            "That was way too close," Shadowcat murmured to herself as she turned a corner.

            As Shadowcat continued along the wall, a group of the Neo soldiers came out from nowhere.  They were conversing about something and did not notice Shadowcat.  She knew that she couldn't take them out without the security camera catching her so she took a deep breath and phased herself into the wall.  There's no oxygen in the wall so she must hold her breath and keep herself from falling.  As the Neo soldiers walked by her unnoticed, Shadowcat phased out of the wall and gasped for breath.  Shadowcat got out of the wall too early for the Neo soldiers heard her gasping and turned around to check out the situation.

            "Did you hear that?" asked one of the Neo.

            "Yeah, it sounded like someone gasping for breath," said the other Neo as they rushed back down the hallway.

            ('Damn it!  Those Neo heard me!  I'm such an idiot!')  Shadowcat thought to herself.

            The three Neo burst backed into the hallway with guns flaring.  Shadowcat quickly back-flipped and reached into her belt for her ninja stars.  Shadowcat landed on the ground crouching and tossed her ninja stars.  The three Neo dodged the ninja stars but was still continuing their gunfire.  Shadowcat threw a few more ninja stars to distract the Neo while she ran toward the security room area.

            "Sound the alarm!  We have an intruder!" commanded one of the Neo.

            The other Neo triggered the alarm and the three Neo quickly chased after Shadowcat.  One of the Neo used their power of manipulating the ground and caused the ground to split upward changing the smooth surface rocky.  Shadowcat didn't expect this and almost tripped while sprinting toward the security room area.  The Neo continued to shoot at her but kept missing every shot.  Shadowcat quickly leaped into the door of the security room while becoming intangible to go straight into the room.

            ('Whoa!  What an adrenaline rush!') thought Shadowcat excitedly, "I wonder which of these switches shut down their security."

            As Shadowcat scanned the room for the switch, the three Neo banged on the security door.  Shadowcat couldn't decide which one was the switch so she jammed her hand into the system and shut the entire thing.  After Shadowcat destroyed the mainframe, the Neo broke into the room where Shadowcat got surrounded by enemies.  Meanwhile, Psylocke, Wolverine and Nightcrawler just reached the power core when the alarm went off.  Almost instantaneously, an army of Neo burst into the hall and began to attack the X-Men.

            "Did you set off the alarm Wolverine?" asked Nightcrawler angrily.

            "What?! Of course not!" exclaimed Wolverine.

            "Then it must've been Shadowcat because I didn't set off the alarm," Psylocke pointed out.

            "Who cares who set off the bomb?!  We have another problem to deal with!" said Wolverine as he unleashed his adamantium claws for his fist and leaped into the battle.

            Psylocke used her telekinesis to knock down a path toward the power core.  The Neo attacked her with bullets and laser shots but Psylocke managed to erect telekinesis shields around her to deflect the projectiles.  Nightcrawler used his agility to maneuver in the confined space and fought off the Neo that tried to pull him onto the ground.  Wolverine tried to fight off a legion of Neo but began to lose his strength.  Psylocke quickly rushed to Wolverine's aide.

            "Are you alright Wolverine?" asked Psylocke as she kept the Neo at bay telekinetically.

            "I'll manage.  You need to take out the power core.  No matter what happens, that thing must be destroyed!" commanded Wolverine.

            While all this commotion was happening in the heart of the compound, Shadowcat struggled against a legion of Neo of her own.  Shadowcat managed to use her katana (a weapon of the samurai or ninja) to keep the Neo from overwhelming her.

            ('My passive powers are useless against the Neo but my martial arts has started to wear me down.  Maybe I can use my power in a more aggressive way.') thought Shadowcat as she kicked a Neo away from her, ('I'll try to phase into the Neo and partly solidify.  Perhaps this'll help me get out of this situation.')

            Back with Wolverine, the team begins to break down from the overwhelming number of the Neo.  As all three X-Men to survive, Nightcrawler managed to teleport near enough the power core to make some damage.  Nightcrawler quickly jammed his sword into the power core and nuclear energy began to leak from the core.  Psylocke already knew that the power core was going to explode but was not able to shield Nightcrawler.  Just as the power core exploded, Psylocke was only able to shield herself and Wolverine.

            "No!!" Psylocke screamed as she ran toward Nightcrawler.

            Once the smoked cleared both Wolverine and Psylocke could see that most of the Neo had been knocked out.  Psylocke and Wolverine ran to the middle of the area in search of Nightcrawler.  After frantically searching briefly, Psylocke found Nightcrawler's body sprawled on the floor with blood gushing out of a head wound and multiple cuts all over his blue skinned body.

            "Oh my god," murmured Wolverine shocked, "Psylocke, you keep his blood from gushing with your telekinesis.  I'll call for backup from the others," ordered Wolverine as he turned on his communicator," Stormy, we need immediate back up.  Nightcrawler's been hurt bad and we don't know what's going on with Shadowcat.  Bring medical equipment.  Hurry 'cause I don't think Nightcrawler's got much time left.

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	2. Survival

The Uncanny X-Men: The Neo 

No. 2

Survival 

            "Storm, we need back-up immediately!  I repeat, Nightcralwer's been hurt badly and needs medical attention right away!" called Wolverine.

            It was only moments ago that the X-Men Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, and Wolverine invaded the Neo's headquarters.  Having already completed their mission by destroying the base's power core, now these four X-Men only struggle to survive.  Nightcrawler, the blue skinned mutant with the ability to teleport to places he's been to or seen before, made the ultimate sacrifice to destroy the base's power core.  Now severely injured with wound all over his body, his teammate, named Psylocke (whose power is telekinesis) struggles to keep him alive by telekinetically pressuring the wounds.

            "Is..the…p..pp..oo.ww.eerr.co.ooo.rre.e  .g..g.o..con..nn….eee?" asked Nightcrawler barely able to remain conscious.

            "Yeah, the power core's gone thanks to you." Replied Psylocke as she struggled to deal with seeing Nightcrawler in such pain, ('If only I still had my telepathy.  I could close off his sense of pain so that he wouldn't suffer any more')

            Back at the security room area, Shadowcat fought alone against a swarm of the Neo.  Having become physically exhausted, Shadowcat contemplates whether or not she should use her power of intangibility in a more aggressive manner.

            ('I have to use my power a little more dangerously if I want to get out of this situation alive.  My fighting skills just isn't cutting it right now.  I have no other choice.') thought Shadowcat as she turned her had intangible, "Eh, blondie!" called Shadowcat, "Come get some!" she shouted as she flicked off the Neo.

            All the Neo flared up with anger and charged toward Shadowcat like mad bulls that just saw red.  Shadowcat used her intangible hands and legs to attack the Neo.  As her hand or leg went through a Neo's body, she would slightly solidify herself to inflict severe pain to her victim before pulling out her limbs.  Each person Shadowcat did this to collapsed or fainted when she was done.  As one Neo tried to slice off Shadowcat's head with Shadowcat's katana, she stabbed her intangible fist straight into the Neo's chest and opened her fist.  Shadowcat had never done that before but when she did, the Neo got a hole in his chest that was permanent.  Shadowcat didn't realize what she had done but when the reality of her murder sank in, she gasped in fear, shock and of slight excitement.

            "Oh my god!" cried Shadowcat horrified and excite, "I killed him!  I killed him!  I'm a…murderer!" screamed Shadowcat as she fell to the ground sobbing like a siren.

            Meanwhile, outside the compound, Storm(the weather mutant), Phoenix(the telepath), Cable(the telekinetic and telepath), and Gambit(the thief with the power to charge objects with explosive kinetic energy) have just received Wolverine's transmission calling for help.  These four X-Men waited as the other four entered the compound to destroy the power core.  Storm's team's mission was to back-up the team entering enemy territory.

            "Wolverine, hang on a while longer," replied Storm as Jean grabbed the medi-pack, "We're on our way to your location." 

            "Why didn't they call for help before someone got injured?" asked Cable.

            "You're new to the X-Men Cable.  You're lead X-Force(another band of outlaw mutants fighting for peace) and have been apart of several other teams but, the X-Men operate differently," explained Phoenix, "Our entire lives can change in a split second.  We lead dangerous lives and with it comes the price of unpredictability.  We never know what's going to happen." 

            "In other words, mon ami, our lives is like playing the game of chance," translated Gambit as he exited the Blackbird.

            "How can you stand being around a guy as obnoxious that Phoenix?"

            "You learn to tolerate him," Phoenix answered as she exited with Storm.

            "All this stuff will take some getting use to," murmured Cable as he shut the door of the Blackbird telekinetically behind him.

            "Alright X-Men," commanded Storm, "The Neo may be anticipating our arrival so the element of surprise is gone.  We need to head into the base fighting.  I'll create fog around the area to blind the enemy.  Gambit, you blast down the entrance while Phoenix telepathically links our minds together.  Cable, you use your telekinesis to shield us from the Neo.  Everyone clear?"

            "I'm as ready as I'll every be," replied Gambit.

            "These situations never get any easier," commented Phoenix.

            "If we die this day, we die fighting for a good cause," stated Cable as he pulled out his psimitar(a futuristic weapon used to channel psionic energy.)

            "What a happy thought to keep in mind, mon ami," said Gambit.

            "Let's go in X-Men," ordered Storm.

            Immediately, Storm began to float into the sky.  The clouds above began to swirl rapidly as thunder and lightning began to make their appearance.  Thick fog began to form and be blown into the compound.  The Neo guards were not able to see each other because the fog was so thick.

            "What the heck is going on?" asked on Neo.

            "I don't know.  This fog appeared out of nowhere," explained another Neo.

            As Storm increased the thickness of the fog, Phoenix established telepathic links with her team so that they would not get lost in the fog.  Gambit quickly went up to the entrance door and charged it with massive amounts of kinetic energy.  When the door was fully charged up, Gambit kicked the door down causing a major explosion.  Cable immediately erected a TK shield for the explosion was bound to have attracted spectators.

            The Neo started to attack randomly, trying so very hard to hit the X-Men.  The Neo attacked with guns of all kinds and with all their powers but they attacked blindly.  Phoenix used her telepathy to guide the X-Men to the power core of the base.  As they moved farther into the base, the harder it was for Cable and Phoenix to maintain their powers.  Because of the strain Cable put into the TK shield, he left his techno-organic virus(which he contracted as an infant) unchecked and it began to attack his system.

            ('Storm,') called Cable struggling to keep the TK shield up and put his virus in check, ('I can't keep up this TK shield for much longer.  My techno-organic virus is beginning to attack my body.  I need to focus my power on containing the virus or else it'll kill me.')

            ('You need not explain yourself Cable') replied Storm, ('You can pull down your TK shield and next time, just tell me what you have to do.')

            ('While we're on the subject,') added Phoenix, ('I'm going to cut off our telepathic link.')

            Cable pulled down his TK shield and almost immediately, the Neo attacked like crazy.  Phoenix cut off the mental link with her teammates and quickly focused her power on finding Wolverine and Psylocke.  Gambit and Cable escorted Phoenix all the way to the power core while Storm stayed behind to cover them.

            "Gale force winds!  I command you to blow the Neo off the face of the Earth!" Storm commanded as gale force winds started to blow within the hallway.

            Storm's winds blew at hurricane force and vacuumed the Neo out of the hall.  Meanwhile, Phoenix got out the medi-pack and tended to Nightcrawler's wounds.  Psylocke stilled kept Nightcrawler's wounds under pressure while Phoenix used her telepathy to numb Nightcrawler's sense of pain.

            "Nightcrawler's wounds aren't fatal but he needs to go see a professional doctor.  There's only so much that I can do since I'm not a medical major," announced Phoenix.

            "We still need to find Shadowcat," reminded Psylocke with sweat dripping down her forehead.

            "Psylocke, let me take over for you," suggested Cable when he saw how strained Psylocke was, "You need rest now."

            "I'll manage."

            "Here's the plan," explained Phoenix, "Gambit, Psylocke and I will remain with Nightcrawler until Storm arrives.  Storm can help us get Nightcrawler out safely.  Wolverine and Cable, you two must go find Shadowcat.  Once you find her, get out of here.  Do not wait for the rest of us.  Got it?

            "We're not going to leave you behind," replied Wolverine.

            "Don't worry about me Wolverine.  I'm Phoenix after all.  I've died many times and like my namesake, I came back.  Now go."

            Wolverine and Cable collaborated to find Shadowcat each using their own power.  Wolverine used his hyper sensitive sense of smell while Cable used his telepathy.  In no time at all, the two X-Men zeroed in on Shadowcat and hurried to her aide.  They found her kneeling on the floor sobbing.

            "I killed him…I killed him…I'm evil…I'm a murderer…I'm a murderer…I killed him," chanted Shadowcat as she cradled herself.

            "What are you talking about Shadowcat?" asked Wolverine.

            "I killed him…I.kkilleddd him.." replied Shadowcat while pointing to the Neo with a hole in his chest.

            "How'd you do that?" asked Cable.

            "Let's not talk about this.  She's been traumatized by what she's done.  Let's just get her out of here, bub," Wolverine answered.

            As Cable and Wolverine helped Shadowcat to her feet, they began to walk toward the doorway when a second door slammed down blocking the exit.

            "What's going on?  Is this my punishment for murder?" asked Cable.

            All of a sudden, yellow mist began to seep out form the ceiling.  The three X-Men didn't notice at first but Wolverine picked up the scent almost instantaneously.  The gas started to fill up the room as quickly as water fills up a jar.

            "It's some sort or gas!" exclaimed Wolverine coughing, "Putt.cough..cough..uup.a..TK…shi..eld..cough.."

            Before Cable could pull up a TK shield, the gas started to take effect.  Shadowcat and Cable fell to ground unconscious.  Wolverine was still conscious and sprawled on the floor.  Wolverine crawled toward the door and unleashed his adamantium claws from his fist.  He slammed it into the door trying to break through while struggling to stay conscious.  As Wolverine lost the rest of his energy, he finally collapsed on the floor with blood gushing from his nose.

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